Aug 29, 2006

It’s hard to even put a label on the weekend in August which I call Monterey Weekend.  First, it has developed into much more than a weekend.  Events start the week prior with ride-and-drives ending in the Monterey Peninsula.  Events in the Peninsula now start on Thursday.  The bigger these events have become, the more corporate money has been invested into the various events, all hoping to out-image the other guys for their piece of the consumer Dollar.  I guess I understand why these things happen, but I often think back to the 1980’s when these events were young, and I was younger.  I guess time marches on…

So rather than complain about the size of the events, the crowds, the traffic, and the ticket prices, I’ll focus on the cars.  After all, isn’t that why we go?

On Friday, Concorso Italiano was held and produced the usual sea of red.  Ferraris were everywhere, but I was also excited to see more of the other Italian manufacturers represented.  There were even Italian boats.  I was also very pleased to see more people just enjoying their cars.  One person in particular stuck out.  Smokey has a 246GTS Dino, and adorned the back of it with champagne, wine, cheese, crackers, and just enjoyed the day.  Anyone was offered hospitality, and by the end of the day the wine was gone.  Bravo Smokey and thanks!

 

There were also some Ferraris put to interesting uses.  For example, an F40 was converted into a dragster / speed record racer complete with parachutes on the back.

The FOC had new regalia designs including a jacket, t-shirts, and some incredible Italian lambskin jackets, so our booth at Consorso was very busy.  Rich, his son, Robert, Andrea and others worked hard and I’m sure everyone thanks them for their efforts!

Laguna Seca and the Monterey Historic Auto Races have been home to the FOC’s hospitality tent as long as there has been Monterey Historic Auto Races, and our tent offers some incredible views of the action.

 

Those who were there had a special treat as Toyota brought their current 2006 F1 car and broke the track record on Saturday.  With the pit entrance against our tent area, we got some very close-up views of the action.







The pits at Laguna Seca also offer passers-by the opportunity to see auto racing history from start to current in a few minutes.  This is truly a great event!

The FOC tent also offers the best food at the track, with steak, salmon, chicken, several salads, dessert, and all the trimmings served.  During a hot day at the track, what’s better than the perfect view of the action along with great people, great food, and a cold soda or beer?  If you missed it this year, don’t miss it next year.  The honored manufacturer will be Aston Martin.  Thanks to all those who made this year’s hospitality tent a success.

Sunday visitors are offered another day at the track, but this year I chose the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.  There were a few special cars that drew me to the lawn instead of the track.  The concept cars are always special, but this year James Glickenhaus was showing his custom Ferraris.  One was a 612 with a Pininfarina-altered front end to look more like a 575.

 

It’s a beautiful car, but the real crowd-pleaser was Mr. Glickenhaus’ modern P4/5 re-body of an Enzo.

 

Most car magazines have featured the car, but the details in-person are amazing.  Even Jean Todt found it fascinating.

 

Pininfarina did the work, and it looks like they pulled-out all the stops.  This is one amazing car!  I have seen articles questioning whether this custom coachwork is really a Ferrari.  My response to that is to walk the lawn at Pebble Beach.  EVERY Ferrari was either a custom coachwork car or a very limited production competition car.  My congratulations go to Mr. Glickenhaus, Pininfarina, Ferrari, and everyone involved in the project.  Thank you for creating this amazing, tastefully done, homage to all that is Ferrari.